Karen Hunt

hey guys and gals. yesterday i did an upper intake manifold swap on my 01 f150 5.4L triton. big time rookie mistake, i didn't drain the coolant before starting. so when i lifted the old manifold up, coolant went everywhere! after several hours of cleaning and shop vac-ing, i thought i had most of the coolant cleaned up. i managed to get everything put back together (minus the vac line on the fuel pressure regulator since the nipple snapped off when trying to remove it) and tried to start it. i got a half crank, then nothing. every time i try to start it, i only get a half crank. i have tried taking the belt off then starting it and i get the same result. so i tried to move every pully individually, and my crankshaft pully wont move. when i try to start it, the pully only moves maybe an inch. did all the coolant go into the block and seize my engine?? PLEASE HELP!

JCR 56

Take all the spark plugs out and crank it, it could be hydro locked.

Karen Hunt

someone also told me that i should drain all the oil out with the plugs and start it... just to push all the fluid out. recommended or no?

JCR 56

No, you don't want to crank it with no oil in the crankcase, but you do want to get it out of the truck pretty quick if it has water in it. Change the filter also. Just take the spark plugs out at this time and see if you can get the truck to start cranking.

Karen Hunt

It was definitely in hydro lock. After I got all the plugs out she cranked. Antifreeze shot a good 10-15 feet high with the first crank! I cranked it about 15 times till only nearly nothing was coming out. I put it back together and after a few seconds of hesitation, she ran like the beast that she is. Thanks so much for all your guidance!

JCR 56

You're welcome, glad I could help.